Kellie Martin's Blog: The Sky’s Not the Limit

Kellie is an Emmy-nominated actress who recently appeared on Lifetime’s Army Wives, and is perhaps best known for her work on ER and Life Goes On. She has assumed a new role with her takeover of ROMP, an online modern children’s boutique. Kellie is mom to 5-year-old daughter Maggie and hopes that ROMP will "inspire conscious, thoughtful parenting practice and will, in turn, help moms feel confident and fulfilled.”

Dinner:

Maggie: “Mama, can I be a doctor when I get big?”Me: (grinning proudly) “Of course. You can be anything you want to be.”Maggie: “A doctor for turtles?”Me: “Yep.”Maggie: “Can I be an astronaut too? And can I go to space… today?”

Do you remember when all of this felt possible? Think for a moment about how you used to dream when you were a kid. Without filters. Big reckless dreams. And why on Earth couldn’t they happen… today?

I miss my ability to believe completely in my own ability. If just for a day, I wish I could have an ounce of the unbridled ambition I had when I was Maggie’s age.

My childhood ego was pretty darn healthy, if I do say so myself. Let’s just be honest, I thought I was the BOMB. According to me I was hilarious, smart, cute and super energetic. And armed with these attributes, I dreamed big. Like my daughter, I wanted to be an astronaut, but then there was that whole not-being-so-good-at-math-or-science thing. I also wanted to be a detective, just like Nancy Drew. Maybe an undercover homicide detective! My dad told me that the only way he’d allow me to be a cop was on television. Television. That sounded good. So, I decided that I would be an actress, and I actually followed through with it. Luckily you don’t second-guess yourself when you’re 7 years old.

Maybe my parents would have preferred that I become a doctor (even for turtles) rather than an actor, but they always encouraged me to follow my heart. And even though my boundless self-confidence started waning about the time I hit teenagedom, I’m grateful for the supportive foundation I had as a kid. I hope I can give Maggie that same support and preserve her ability to believe completely in her own ability for a long as possible.